Sunday, July 12, 2009

Blog News 07/12/09

Hi everyone. I've just been too busy to up date the blog. There is some news to talk about, but I'm planing on getting into that when I return on Monday morning.

Under the category "People---- idiots or what". Yesterday we drove down to the National Zoo in D.C. I-95 was eight lanes of solid fast traffic. Side of us was a young woman --- texting. No hands on the wheel and looking down, not at the traffic.

See you Sunday night or Monday morning.

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"Hello" from Baltimore. I do have an internet connection. A quick check shows no significant UMass football news, so I'll try to do a more detailed search tonight or tomorrow.

Should you ever visit Fort McHenry, try to time your visit for Noon. Mrs. Blog and I (plus about forty other people) got to take part in the raising of the BIG flag over the fort. It measures 42 by 30 feet. Two rangers supervised and everyone cheered when the Flag went up.

The small image is a file photo, because I could not take any images while holding the flag. The big image is by me.




Click on the image for a full-rez view. Gotta go. Mrs. Blog is yelling for me to stop playing on the computer. Going to the National Aquarium and other inner harbor stops.

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Mrs. Blog and I are off for a week to the Baltimore-Washington area for some R&R.

The place that we are staying is supposed to have wireless internet. If I have a working internet connection, I will try to update the Blog on a time available basis.

No posting at all means I do not have an internet connection and the Blog will return on 07/19 when we get back.

Sunday News ---- 07/12/09

UMass was the only team to offer Framingham QB Danny Guadagnoli. He's 6-1 200 pds. Guadagnoli threw for 2,600 yards and 25TD's last year. He added 600 yards rushing and 15 TDs on the ground.

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The Maine Black Bears have a long history of sending players to the NFL by means of the free agent route. Maine's Jared Turcott a 6-2 232 pd powerback has that written all over him.

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Boston College has been doing more recruiting in New England this year. Article brought to my attention over on the "Eagle in Atlanta" blog.

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Saturday, July 11, 2009

Saturday News--- 07/11/09

Both the Springfield Republican and Matty Vautour have UMass football articles up, both contain nothing I haven't already covered. The Springfield Republican is here and the Hampshire Gazette is here.

The UMass athletic dept has an article about Vladimir Ducasse and Jeromy Miles being picked as pre-seaon All-Americans by Sports Network.

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Matty does have a nice link to a North Jersey article about Marcel Shipp.

Shipp has been a class act everywhere he's gone. Hopefully, he'll be involved in UMass football somehow if he's truly out of professional football.

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The always interesting Draft Daddy Blog has a comment on Kansas State WR Brandon Banks

" We do know, however, that fellow Kansas State wide receiver Brandon Banks ran a blistering 4.27 at his pro day. Banks was given a draftable projection, despite his glaring lack of ideal size -- 5' 7", 151. "

We'll be seeing Mr. Banks shortly.

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Things are getting weird for Delaware WR Mark Duncan.

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Anyone going to the Kansas State game had better get working on their motel reservations, or they will be staying forty miles away in Kansas City.

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Friday, July 10, 2009

Friday News ----- 07/10/09

David Coulson picks the Sports Network's Preseason All-America teams. Vladimir Ducasse and Jeromy Miles both made the second team.

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I'm sorry to say Western Carolina had a player die during a summer voluntary workout.

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The 7/10 issue of Draft Daddy has list of Senior "Small School" Safety NFL prospects. Jeromy Miles is second on the list.


DD.Comment: "At this point, Schillinger and Miles are clearly the top two prospects in the group above. Both are considered latter round type prospects, but have the potential to move into the middle rounds with strong senior years and good post-season workouts. Big East transfer Andrews also has some draft potential, but needs to prove he possesses next level speed."


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If you missed it, ESPN signed a contract to cover BCS football games starting in 2011 ------ for a half a billion dollars.

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Thursday, July 09, 2009

Recruiting 2010 ---- D.J. Morrell and Jeremy Dickens

This article from a Norwalk newspaper talks about five Norwalk football players who will play in the Hall-of-Fame classic this Friday.

D.J. Morrell a 6-7 320 pd OL will play for Dean College this fall. He's getting looks from Boston College, Temple, Bryant, Iowa and UMass.

Morrell's Rivals page here . Rated as one of the top ten players in CT. Another article about him here.

Joining him at Dean will be another Norwalk senior Jeremy Dickens a 6-2 210 TE/DE who is drawing interest from Temple, UMass and Central Connecticut.

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

UMass football news ----- 07/08/09

A Dean College punter chooses Clemson over UMass.

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The Sports Network has started their list of Payton Award Watch list. The first four (of twenty) are here.

They're doing the same thing for the Buchanan Award Watch list. The first four defensive players are here.

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The New Hampshire Football report blogs that Dartmouth has dropped UNH from their schedule after this year.

That will leave only the Rhode Island -- Brown game as the last remnant of the old Yankee Conference- Ivy League series.

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Phil Steele has UMass as #19 in his preseason poll.

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Today's Draft Daddy post has a list of top "Small School" cornerbacks. No UMass players on the list but fans of the Minutemen will see Stony Brook's Chris Williams and James Madison's Scotty McGee at McGuirk.

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Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Tuesday news --- 07/07/09

David Coulson has the latest edition of his "Around FCS" column up and considers Steve McNair's Paradoxical Life.

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I've blogged before that a number of FCS football conferences are not holding Media days this year because of budgetary woes.

The CAA will still have it's regular Media Day in 2009. From the CAA website:

"2009 CAA FOOTBALL MEDIA DAY
JULY 29 - ESPNZONE - BALTIMORE, MD
CAA Football will kick off the 2009 season at the ES-
PNZone in Baltimore, Md., Wednesday, July 29. All
12 CAA Football head coaches will be present, along
with selected players from each team. Please contact
Scott Meyer at the CAA Football office for more in-
formation."

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Mrs Blog and I have plans to go to the UMass-Richmond game this fall. This year will be the last year the Spiders will play in City Stadium.

They've got some special events planned.

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#ESPN's College football live will cover Kansas State today (Tuesday). The show will be aired at 2:30, 4:30 and 6:00 pm.

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The Orlando Sentinel ranks the College Football Preview Magazines.

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Tampa Bay.com takes a look at life after football for offensive linemen.

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Monday, July 06, 2009

Monday News--- 07/06/09

Draft Daddy's blog has a post on the Top Ten Small School OT NFL prospects for 2009. Quote on Valdimir Ducasse:

"Vladimir Ducasse ~ Massachusetts -- Is 6'5", 330 pounds and very agile. Grew up in Haiti, but moved to Connecticut in high school. Some scouts project him as a future N.F.L. guard."

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Anton McKenzie's BC Lions bio page here. His UMass bio here.

CAN West File photo

Another story about him here.

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UMass legend Steve Schubert's daughter is General Manager of the Manchester Wolves arena football team.

This blog has a number of times about Steve Schubert.

This article was brought to my attention over at the New Hampshire Football Report.

Image by Jodie Andruskevich.






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Kansas State will be running the 4-2-5 defense this year.

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Sunday, July 05, 2009

Sunday News ---- 07/05/09

You've probably already heard, but Steve McNair was shot to death yesterday. This story focuses on his time at FCS/I-AA Alcorn State.

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Matty Vautour has an article on former UMass punter Christian Koegel's stint on Real World Cancun. I'm not a reality show fan, so I haven't seen it. A lot of the people on these shows are actor wannabes, so it may lead to an acting career for him if he's interested in that sort of thing.

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Via the New Hampshire Football Report, Jordan Johnson a CB from Springfield Mass signed with Brigham Young. He had offers from UNH, Northeastern and Bryant.

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Kansas State star DT Jeffery Fitzgerald was arrested for DWI. If he gets suspended for a couple of games, UMass is likely to be one of them.

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Saturday, July 04, 2009

Happy Fourth of July --- 07/04/09


Click on image for a hi-rez view. The image of a rainbow over Pear harbor is by PO3 Chelsea Kennedy.

No UMass news on the wires today. So I'll just wish everyone a safe and happy Fourth of July.

I checked the US navy status site and there are 192 US Navy ships and 25 submarines under way today. That's 46% of the fleet.

Friday, July 03, 2009

Friday News ---- 07/03/09

Yawin Smallwood a 6-4 225 pd LB from Worcester has committed to UConn. He had received an offer from UMass.

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Brenden Barrett, a kicker from eastern Mass who drew attention from UMass will walk on at Ole Miss.

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NFL Draft Scout has a list of the top 750 2010 NFL Draft prospects.
  • #137 Vladimir Ducasse -projected 5th round pick
  • #401 Jeromy Miles -- FA
  • #668 Victor Cruz -- Tryout
  • #730 Kyle Harrington -- Tryout
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I received my copy of the Phil Steele's ACC & Big East regional college football magazine through the mail yesterday. He has over a 100 pages on FCS including 11 on the CAA. Steele picks UMass second in the CAA North behind Hofstra (?!).

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Former UMass player and coach Joe Cullen has been added to the staff at Idaho State.

Former UMass assistant coach John Zamberlin is HC with the Bengals.

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Thursday, July 02, 2009

Fall 2009 UMass football Roster is up

Before we start, it's apparent that someone in New England has pissed off the weather gods.

I want that person to apologize right now!

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Fall 2009 Roster

Deletions from the Spring roster:
  1. Scott Wallace QB. See this article.
  2. C.J. Burnley RSFR CB. The depleted CB position gets even smaller.
  3. Nick Collouri RSFR DT.
  4. Korrey Davis SO TB. I've already blogged about Davis' transfer to Liberty.
  5. Theluxon Pierre SR DT.
  6. Adham Talaat OT FR. The only loss out of the 2009 recruits.
Additions to the Fall Roster:
  1. Ryan McMackin FR. OL. Coming off one year at Milford Academy.He was 2nd team All-Class C New Jersey in 2007. Played in the New York/New Jersey Governor's Bowl.
  2. Theo Agnew FR DL. New Haven Register All-State in 2008.
  3. Caleb Violette FR K/P. VA Preps All-Virginia team in 2007. Walk-on at Virginia Tech last year.

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Wednesday News ----- 07/01/09

The Charleston Gazette has a long interview with retiring Marshall AD Bob Marcum (mentions UMass a couple of times).

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In Monday's blog post, I report on BCS/I-A transfer Justin Roper's considering UMass. The Minutemen did not make the final two for the services of the Oregon transfer.

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Kansas State is ranked high in an "easy OOC" schedule poll.

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Highest percentage of returning letterman in the CAA*.

Total /Returning/ Percent Returning
  1. William & Mary 50/41 78%
  2. Richmond 65/51 78%
  3. Northeastern 61/48 78%
  4. Villanova 41/31 76%
  5. UMass 70/53 75%
  6. Towson 58/44 75%
  7. Rhode Island 48/36 75%
  8. James Madison 69/51 73%
  9. Maine 55/39 72%
  10. Hofstra 60/43 72%
  11. Delaware 60/38 63%
* Source the 2009 Spring CAA press guide

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Tuesday News ----- 06/30/09

The UMass Football Media Guide generally ranks high in design. In 2008 the Media guide was ranked as the best cover in FCS/I-AA (pdf).

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Draft Daddy has David McCarty ranked higher than UMass' Tony Nelson in their "Top 10 Small School Running Back Prospects".







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Adham Talaat, who was one of the 19 players listed on the February recruit signing list is gone from the 2009 Spring roster.

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Richmond's Head Coach Mike London has received a contract extension to 2014.

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Over on the Bleacher Report, there's an article on "FBS Teams that need to beware of FCS in 2009". UMass gets an honorable mention with it's Kansas State game.

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Monday, June 29, 2009

Monday News ----- 06/29/09

UMass has missed out on another QB transfer, Justin Roper chose Montana over UMass, Towson, and Eastern Kentucky. Another article here .

Roper's Oregon bio here.

Roper had already used his redshirt year, so he would have only had two years of eligibility left had he come to UMass.

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The Boston Globe has an article on new St. Louis Rams head coach Steve Spagunolo. It mentions UMass several times including former UMass coach Jimmy Reid.

Spagnuolo's Rams bio here.

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The New Hampshire Football Report has a post that UMass DB recruit Christian Birt will not play in the the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl in order to report earlier to UMass.

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Northeastern may move their home games to White Stadium in Franklin Park.

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Sports of Boston takes a look at the coming UMass- Kansas State game.

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Saturday, June 27, 2009

Recruiting 2009 --- Jesse Hunt, Brandon Potvin

The Worcester Telegram has an article about two 2009 UMass recruits: Brandon Potvin and Jesse Hunt. I don't think I ever published a link to this article back in February that mentions Potvin.

Potvin we already know about as he was part of the 19 player class announced back on February 4th. He's a 6-1 240 pd DL from Holy Name in Worcester. Potvin was a member of the Telegram's Super Team and Central Mass Defensive MVP. Potvin had 298 career tackles.

Hunt went 84-142 1,284 yards and 15TD's in his senior year. He was named to several Central Mass All-star teams. Hunt is 6-3 215. He will be a recruited walk-on .

Welcome to both Jesse and Brandon!

Friday, June 26, 2009

Friday News --- 06/26/09

The Lehigh Football Nation has an interesting post about his attending the first ever conference on Sports Blogging. The title of the conference was "Blogs with Balls 1.0".

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I've blogged about Ron Villone before. The former UMass All-Yankee Conference and All-East TE appeared a couple of times for the Washington Nationals against the Boston Red Sox in the current series. His Nationals bio here.

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There's still a lot of turmoil going on at Kansas State.

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Thursday, June 25, 2009

Recruiting 2009 ---- Ryan Carter

The Bedford Minuteman ( good name!), has an article about Ryan Carter a 5-11 185 pd WR/DB who will be joining UMass in the fall. The Blog likes that reported 4.4 40 speed.

I've blogged about Ryan and his brother Woody before. Woody's Northeastern bio here.

Woody Carter is listed as a 6-1 185 pd WR on the Dean College roster. Woody had 6 caches for 161 yards, 26.8 AVE and 1 TD for Dean in 2008.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Friends of Football Meeting 2009


I attended Monday's Friends of Football Golf Classic. So far this month it's rained eighteen out of twenty four days in New England. So the Friends had to battle through bad weather for the golf portion of the event. This was the second straight year of rain.

As usual, everyone had a good time. One Friend even flew in from California to attend. Liam Coen was there as well as former UMass All-American and current Hofstra Coach Bill Durkin.

Not a lot of football news from the event. Several UMass coaches were unable to attend because there were a couple of potential recruits on campus that day. Coach Morris said that UMass was still recruiting and considering some transfers for 2009.

I spoke with Liam Coen and he said he recently worked out for the B.C. Lions of the CFL. He's also had some interest from the new United football league. Liam has already had one coaching offer. The Blog hopes Liam gets a chance to show what he can do for a program.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Tuesday News ------ 06/23/09

A pair of links courtesy of the always interesting Draft Daddy.

The University of Miami has learned the perils of over-using recruiting sites and the necessity of viewing game tapes-----not just the highlight reel.

Josh Buchanan ranks this year's WR prospects for the NFL draft and Jeremy Horne is #11.

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UMass Athletics now has a Twitter page.

More info here.

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Jennifer Broder, the Head athletic trainer for UMass football has won the 2009 Athletic Trainer Service Award.

Coach Morris mentioned the award during last evening's Friends of Football golf outing and supper.

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The Richmond Times-Dispatch looks at Richmond, William and Mary and James Madison's chances against BCS/I-A completion this year.

Richmond's coach Mike London looks at recruiting at the FCS/I-AA level.

NFL's Total Access has an article on former UMass star Brandon London and his father.

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I'll be back tomorrow with some news from the Friends of Football meeting.